Smile Like You Mean It
by fullofmetal
Summary: She came to realize that dreams weren't what they used to be; that things change and romance was just a concept of fairy-tales. 100 Steve/Evie Stories; Written for OTP 100 on LiveJournal.
1. Us

**Title:** Us

**Prompt:** 01. OTP

**Rating:** PG

**Author's Notes:** Random snippets from different points in their relationship.

1.

At sixteen, Evie wasn't exactly sure what love was. Yet as she watched Steve Randle – bent over the open hood of his car, wiping the sweat off his brow with one greasy hand, a wrench in another – she was sure that what she felt at that moment was damn close.

2.

_I'll wait for you._

That's what she said whenever he talked about fighting in the war. That's what she had said when he came to her house, clutching his draft notice in one hand. That's what she said when he boarded the bus for boot camp. That's what she said in almost all her letters to him.

So while Steve fought in the hot, sticky, lush jungle of Vietnam, Evie cleaned tables in Tulsa, waiting for him to come back.

3.

He was undoubtedly different, but underneath all of that he was still _Steve_. He didn't like to talk about Vietnam, so Evie didn't make him. Whatever happened to him out there, whatever changed him, was a mystery to her. Steve stayed out later, disappeared for hours, and drank a lot more. For her part, Evie just pretended like nothing changed, convinced that _her_ Steve would find his way back.

4.

It was almost hard not to hate him. Evie knew that she should, for everything Steve put her through, for ripping apart their fragile family. Whenever she dropped Crystal and Jason off at his house, they'd hardly talk. That didn't matter, though. All it took was a look; each time the unsaid words hanging heavily and hazardous in the silence between them.

_I still love you._


	2. A Conversation

**Title:** A Conversation

**Prompt:** 57. Ex-Friends

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** It's been a long time since Sandy has been in town.

**Author's Notes:** I write Evie as being Southern. And I mean the _deep_ South. Like, the most southern part of the Georgia/Alabama border.

* * *

"You look good." Sandy's smile was a little bit awkward, but seemed nonetheless genuine.

"Thanks," Evie muttered. She stared down at the frothy, gray-brown muck contained in the mug she held. "Ya look purty good yerself."

Sandy took a sip of her own coffee and continued. "I have to admit, it's been a little strange. Being back here, I mean."

Evie nodded. "Ah imagine it would be. So, are ya here ta stay or are ya jus' visitin'?"

"Just visiting. I ain't gonna be here too long. I came to see my parents."

"Well, in any case, it's nice ta see ya again."

Shaking her head, Sandy laughed, high and without humor. "Glory," she said, her voice strained. "It's been so long. I haven't seen no one from back then, 'cept you. I haven't even heard what's happened to everyone."

"Everyone's scattahed about, honestly," Evie managed to say, her smile tight. She couldn't bring herself to tell Sandy that Soda Curtis was six feet under, buried right next to his parents. "Ah don' see much o' anyone these days neithah."

Sandy looked up at that. "Really? Not even Steve?"

"No. Ah can' say tha' Ah see much o' Steve." Evie tried to ignore the squeezing in her chest, instead focusing on the cup of watery coffee in her hand.

"Oh damn, is that so? I never would have guessed it…" Sandy shook her head again, but this time in disbelief. "The way you two were… I thought…" She paused, as if trying to find the right words. "If me and Soda weren't gonna be the ones to make it to the end, I woulda thought for sure you and Steve would," she finished. "What happened? If you wanna tell me."

Evie just shrugged. "Life," she responded. "Life happened, people changed, and Ah just happened ta end up bein' one o' those gals stuck in ah marriage tha' ain't even worth stickin' around for yer kids." She really hoped her voice didn't sound bitter, or resentful.

"I'm sorry," Sandy said, giving Evie one of those sad, '_I-really-don't-know-what-to-say-here-so-I'll-just-apologize' _smiles. "I remember when you used to believe that Steve and you were gonna be one of those couples out of those sappy romance novels you always read."

Evie took one last sip of her coffee. "Yeah, bu' tha' was before Ah woke up an' realized wha' reality was."


End file.
